Time will tell...

by Cari
(Canada)

Hi Wray, firstly, congratulations on a well-written, very informative website. The research you present is very educational and scientifically based which is very reassuring. Enough so that I ordered your cream.

I am a 38 yr old health care professional in the field of Cancer Treatment. I can fully understand the consequences of having toxic bodies. I am in large part, due to my profession (and because of my 2 young daughters), a very health conscious individual. Over the 8 months or so , I have found that I have been getting feelings of hypoglycemia which gets me shaky and feeling as though I need to eat. When I do, the feeling doesn't normally go away. It was alarming for me. My thyroid tests are normal and am not diabetic.

Upon researching a possible cause for this, I came across info on estrogen dominance and your website. I was taken back by the info I was reading. I could relate to so many symptoms: mental fog, heavy head, memory problems, melasma (since the birth of my 2nd child), low sex drive, internal anger, jittery (and never really used to be), heavy periods and more recently with clots, cracked heels, keratosis on back of arms, dizziness, nausea, mood swings, lack of interest and excitement, very cold hands and feet, PCO as a teenager, etc...I could go on and on. I had NO problems becoming pregnant nevertheless so I wonder whether these symptoms are all due to low progesterone.

Oddly enough, about 5 months after giving birth to my 1st daughter over 5 yrs ago, I developed tingling/itching/burning sensation in my hands and feet (usually at night) which MRI's were done to rule out MS. Thankfully, they were negative. No neurologist can explain my symptoms. I still get this sensation and wonder if the problem is due to progesterone deficiency. My DR tested my hormone levels and they seemed to be fine ( I know this can mean nothing). Have you ever heard of this symptom as a potential cause for low prog.?

Anyhow, I have completed my first month and nearly finished the tube. The head fog is still persisting AND I feel as though I am retaining lots of water and I never get this. It's not a nice feeling. Time will tell if this is really my problem. I assume this is the estrogen dominating effect and will go away.Can you advise? Sorry for the long email (I tried very hard to make it short but feel I have SO much to say!).

Comments for Time will tell...

Hi Cari Well your symptoms echoed mine, thank heavens all gone now. The internal anger really had me puzzled, as I had nothing to be angry about, bar the normal outbursts! Progesterone does help peripheral neuropathy (if what you have falls under this), often found particularly in the extremities. I've no idea if it will help you, but it's certainly worth persevering. PCOS can resolve itself, without the need for meds, so quite possibly this occurred with you, hence you had no difficulties falling pregnant. Hormone results can mean nothing, as the most critical aspect, the ratio between progesterone and oestrogen, is never considered. We've found from Saliva Tests we run, that the ratio should be 600:1 and over to feel well. If you still have the results, to find the ratio, divide the progesterone result by the oestrogen. If a blood test, convert the ng/ml to pg/ml by multiplying by 1000, then divide. You say you have completed the first month, but still have some cream left. This would indicate to me you're not using enough. I recommend 100-200mg/day. I'm not sure how you're using it, but I take it you still have a cycle and you're using it for the last 14 days. In which case you would be getting about 133mg/day if finished in the 14 days. With all those symptoms you mentioned, I would ask you to try using 200mg/day for at least the first 2 to 3 months. You might need less, or more, it is a question of experimenting with the amount. Water retention is caused by oestrogen, this is stimulated by progesterone, until progesterone becomes the dominant hormone. So I really feel you're not using enough. I'm not sure if you've seen the Oestrogen Dominance page, there's more info on this. You might like to see these comments from other users here,here and here. They all struggled in the beginning stages of using progesterone, and had to use very high amounts before finding relief. I'm running out of space, so will start a new comment below. Take care Wray

Jun 15, 2011

Time will tell...by: Wray

Hi Cari Finally, please have a vitamin D test done, this is low in most of us, particularly living in Canada as you do, and has a huge bearing on our well being. See here,here,here and here. A lack of vitamin D reduces the benefits of progesterone, see here,here and here. Please see the Vitamin D council and GrassrootsHealth websites for more info. Thanks for the kind words! I do try to give as much info as possible, to enable others to make an informed decision. Take care Wray

Although this web site is not intended to be prescriptive, it is intended, and hoped, that it will induce in you a sufficient level of scepticism about some health care practices to impel you to seek out medical advice that is not captive to purely commercial interests, or blinded by academic and institutional hubris. You are encouraged to refer any health problem to a health care practitioner and, in reference to any information contained in this web site, preferably one with specific knowledge of progesterone therapy.